National Business

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 0.3 per cent to $72.3 billion in April, helped by higher sales of auto parts and petroleum and coal products. The agency says sales of motor vehicle parts rose 25.1 per cent to a record $3.

LONDON (AP) — A committee of U.K.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits remained elevated last week, a possible sign that the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes over the past year may taking hold in what's proved to be a resilient job market. U.S.

OTTAWA — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in May dropped 23 per cent compared with April as starts of apartments, condos and other types of multi-unit housing projects in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal fell.

TORONTO — Canadians are struggling to save for retirement, with many planning to push back the next phase of their life amid inflation and higher interest rates, according to a new survey from the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan.

CALGARY — Canada has no hope of reaching its 2050 climate goals unless it can find a way to speed up the approvals process for major projects in this country, a new report states.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation may be cooling — just not yet fast enough for the Federal Reserve.

MONTREAL — Reitmans (Canada) Ltd. reported a net loss of $3.8 million in its first quarter, compared with a net loss of $1.7 million a year earlier. The Montreal-based retailer says sales for the quarter ended April 29 were $165.0 million, up 7.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A jury in Oregon says the electric utility PacifiCorp must pay punitive damages for causing devastating wildfires in 2020 — on top of an earlier verdict already expected to amount to billions of dollars.

TORONTO — Strength in industrials and metals helped buoy Canada's main stock index amid energy weakness Wednesday, while U.S. stock markets were mixed after the country's central bank held interest rates steady.